Class 12, Chapters 41-42
Chapter 41, God
41:1—will you catch Leviathan with a fish hook as some ordinary fish?
41:2—can you take him captive?
41:3-5—Leviathan isn’t some animal that needs to “bargain” with a human. He’s not some pet.
41:6—you won’t have Leviathan scales for sale any time soon
41:7—You can’t bring him down like a large fish
41:8—he can’t be touched
41:9-10—man is so terrified of him, he loses hope at the sight of Leviathan. He’s an animal that God made so who can stand before GOD if people are terrified of something he created?
41:11—God owes nothing to people. He made it, it’s all his anyway (Psalm 24:1, Psalm 50:10)
41:12—God will speak more about Leviathan since he’s so strong and impressive
41:13—who could bring Leviathan under their control?
41:14—scary-looking teeth
41:15-17—He is well defended on his back—shields or scales—protected well
41:18--??? does he breathe fire??
41:19-20—perhaps he does breathe fire as we would think of it; there is also smoke as a result
41:23—he is physically sturdy and well defended
41:24—he is without fear
41:25—the courageous are fearful when he makes himself known and appears
41:26—weapons do no good against him
41:27-29—He laughs off any attempt to hurt him—man’s strongest metals and weapons are nothing to him.
41:30—he is dangerous in many ways; even his skin is sharp and pointy underneath. He leaves a trail you can recognize in the mud.
41:31-32—it could disturb the waters, not necessarily boil as in temperature, but if it can breathe fire who knows?
41:34—Leviathan has more reason to be prideful than people
***Why did God spend a chapter talking about a creature he made?***
Chapter 42, Job
42:2-6—Job replies to God and recounts 2 things God said to him in chapter 38:2-3. Here he gives the proper answer to these things God has said.
42:7—Job’s friends spoke wrongly about God. Job spoke what was right!
42:8—Go to my servant Job; maybe Job’s friends had scattered and hid when God spoke to Job. (Adam did the same in the garden and it was from hearing God walk in the garden). Job’s prayer will prevent his friends from being dealt with according to their folly, which is what they deserve. Job will pray for his friends who repeatedly insulted him and accused him of wrong. God mentions that Job’s friends haven’t spoken of him what is right as his servant Job has —TWICE— so it drives the point home. God doesn’t have to say it twice for it to be true, so it’s probably for our benefit and instruction that he says it twice. It gets our attention.
42:9—where did Job’s friends get the animals? Maybe from Job or around his land, which Job was probably happy to give. I think Job would have prayed for his friends without dragging it out. He was an upright man. Also—God accepts us when we fulfill his requirements and abide by his terms. 6 bulls and 7 rams wouldn’t have worked.
42:10—God blesses Job; he doubled what he started with. God sometimes blesses people with wealth. Don’t get stuck on the thinking that wealth and riches are for greedy, evil people. If this were the case God wouldn’t have blessed Job with it in the first place or DOUBLED his wealth later on. Refer to what the book of Proverbs says about wealth, the wise, and diligence to get the scriptural perspective not tainted by our cultural bias and an agenda driven by misconceptions of the mainstream media.
42:11—see chapter 2:11
42:13—exactly the same number and breakdown of children as in the beginning
42:15—I wonder if the writer of the book of Job married one of Job’s daughters (if someone other than Job wrote the book, of course). It’s purely speculation but it’s something I wonder about when I read the statement about how beautiful Job’s daughters were. I think this makes it just as likely that Job wrote it as someone who could have married one of his daughters. Who knows, I can’t help but think about all kinds of things like these because the Bible provokes my curiosity and we can ponder over it continually.
42:17—see chapter 5:26; Eliphaz was right about that!
